σκιά - Why the Law Was Always Meant to Be a Shadow

Skia (skee'-ah): Shadow

I love it when Scripture surprises you with how connected it all is.

This week's Greek word is skia, meaning shadow. It shows up again and again in Hebrews and Colossians and once you see the pattern, you can't un-see it.

Paul and the writer of Hebrews both use the exact same picture: the Law (all those sacrifices, feasts, and priestly rituals) was never the real thing. It was a skia. A shadow cast by something bigger standing just out of view.

Think about what a shadow actually does. It tells you something is there. It gives you the shape of it. But it's not the substance or does it capture every detail! You can't hug a shadow. You can't perfectly always make out what it is, it's just a shadow of the light around a 3D object cast into 2D shape! Take for example this picture of my hand and the shadow it casts:

The shadow of my hand is different than my actual hand. It doesn't show nail polish or rings, it also though wouldn't look any different if I had a different color of skin or tattoos. But, the shadow shows a hand is nearby... it shows there is something to expect and the general idea around it.

That's exactly the point the author of Hebrews is making. The Law pointed forward to a vague shadow of what we can expect. It sketched the outline of a Savior centuries before He showed up. And now that Christ has come, we're not left chasing shadows anymore, we can see how He matches those expectations and is so much better! We now have the substance of the shadow, Himself!

Most people know Colossians 2:17 calls the Law a shadow. But they miss that the very next phrase says the substance belongs to Christ. That's the whole argument in one verse.

Is there an area of your faith where you're still chasing the shadow instead of resting in the substance? Friend, please reflect on this: Jesus is everything we've been searching for.

Scriptures where we find "skia":

Colossians 2:17 — "These are a shadow of the things to come..."

Hebrews 8:5 — "They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things..."

Hebrews 10:1 — "For the Law has but a shadow of the good things to come..."